INFLUENCE OF BURNER DESIGN ON FORMATION OF POLLUTANT EMISSIONS IN OIL COMBUSTION

摘要

The advent of stricter regulations on pollutant emissions has obligated the Mexican electric industry to search for alternatives in the design of combustion equipment to satisfy the new regulations, mainly in regards to NO_x and paniculate matter emissions. Different swirler (flame stabilizer) geometries in a single burner were studied to identify the aerodynamics characteristics of the recircu-lation zone and its influence on the fuel spray introduced in the furnace of the boiler by an atomizer. The aerodynamics characteristics of the recirculation zone are related to the swirl number and pressure drop through the swirler. Results showed changes in the recirculation zone with different swirler designs, promoting variations in the mixing and combustion process. An increment in the swirl number produces a stronger recirculation vortex and an increase in the mixing process, resulting in a better combustion process. As a result of an optimization process, a swirler with curve blades was designed and tested in a thermoelectric power station in Mexico, obtaining good results in terms of NO_x and particulates emissions.